Kanye West & Jay-Z aka The Throne played their first of two shows at the Izod Center in NJ last night (11/5), and they do it again in the same location tonight, and then two nights in a row at MSG...

"The core of the show weaved together separate, alternating sets from Jay and Kanye. This especially benefitted Kanye, whose recent albums, and last tour, got bogged down in fodder. Here he culled the cream, from the strident gospel chorus of "Jesus Walks" to the gothic "Power." Jay-Z, the more consistent performer, drew on his wealth of favorites, from the stuttering "Jigga What" to "Hard Knock Life." The pair doubled up on that last one and others, together offering not just value for money, but a survey of recent commercial hip-hop at its height." [Daily News]

"The show was his first solo performance, and it was truly solo--he was onstage alone with backing tracks on a laptop.

Ocean's system still had a kink or two. "This is awkward," he said quietly when the video screen behind him started showing footage from western movies without audio. That problem was quickly solved, and having his band on computer didn't limit him in any obvious ways.

Song lengths never felt shorter than what the moment demanded, and he wasn't locked into a pre-programmed sequence. Ocean changed the set list on the fly, gesturing for his offstage computer tech to skip forward more than once. He solved the problem of not having a lead guitarist to play the solo at the end of "American Wedding" by strapping on a Guitar Hero controller, turning his back to the audience, and apparently playing along as the video game's footage for "Hotel California"--the song's key sample--ran on the video screen. "I've always wanted to do that," Ocean said afterward." [Rolling Stone]

When Frank's NYC show was first announced, it seemed like maybe he would make it to NJ for at least one of the Izod Throne shows. We know now that didn't happen/isn't possible. Since then the MSG shows were announced though, so maybe Frank will pop on stage in NYC on Monday and Tuesday.

Odd Future (obviously without Frank and vice versa) co-headline Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin tonight. We hear there will be no photopit.

Kanye prepares to meet the recently
carbonite-d Han Solo in Cloud City (more by Bao Nguyen)

Jay-Z & Kanye West have expanded their previously discussed (and rescheduled) tour together to include shows in LA, Chicago, Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, and Madison Square Garden! MSG goes down on November 7th and 8th, with the previous two nights dedicated to shows at Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ (11/5 & 11/6). Ticketing info for MSG is still forthcoming, but Citibank card members can purchase presale tickets on 10/19 at 10AM.

Though tickets are no longer available for either Izod date, you can still hop on a Rocks Off express bus to the venue (11/5, 11/6).

As previously mentioned, Jay-Z will help publicize the opening of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn by playing there. The Daily News wrote this morning that eight shows are planned:

The superstar, who owns a small piece of the soon-to-be renamed Brooklyn Nets, will perform at eight concerts to celebrate the grand opening of the arena - where all-access passes are going for up to $15,400 a season.

Jay-Z likely will be joined by his wife, Beyoncé - who by then will have given birth to the couple's first child - at one of the shows, and will bring on a series of other performers, sources said.

Jay-Zhas since said "Maybe one, maybe two, maybe three" concerts. "And it will be officially called the Brooklyn Nets, Jay-Z said. Dates for his concerts have not been set. But he promised: "Definitely more than one."

Rap mogul Jay-Z will christen the Barclays Center when the under-construction $1-billion home for the Brooklyn-bound Nets opens on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues next fall.

The hip hop star, who owns a very small portion of the basketball team, will headline the venue's first performance during a three-week grand opening at the Prospect Heights arena in September, 2012, according to a source familiar with the plan.

Jay-Z is set to announce the dates at a press conference at the Barclays Center on Monday -- where Nets officials are expected to unveil a new team name.

"there are great moments in awards shows. bruno mars sounded really good doing 'valerie' for amy winehouse. i don't think anyone is bummed that adele is killing everything. her voice was real and focused when i went thru and watched highlights from tonight. kanye and jay z are always murdering. beyonce is pregnant. yes this is awesome as shit, culturally speaking. but can i just ask, the reader, us, we ... as non-rhetorically as possible: don't we seem dumb? didn't MTV lose the fight against themselves? Didn't Rock'n'Roll STOP? Why are the lights so bright? isn't our talent as artists enough? Why do we try SO hard? Does a moonman mean what it did back then? Should we feel pumped when we get one? Should our mom's cry? I am not even thinking about it that hard. I will close my eyes in 90 seconds and have total peace... But, seriously. Why are we waving around so much? Why do we NEED this shit so bad? Why don't we just have MUSIC? DO music? soul? I don't know. I don't mean to criticize. Anyone. Actually. Except for MTV. You might have had a very large opportunity to be stabilize your self as a global presence of culture and art about 15 years ago and you fucked the dog. Sorry. Im with my girls on this one. Its becoming increasingly clear as I think about it more and more, that the dollars, if they ARE apart of why you are doing something... they are apart of why you are doing something. that's fucked to me. that's the absence of spirit, glue, fabric of what makes us a person. it distracts us from what we could be doing: WORK. on EARTH. Better say this: Forget what I say. If you even read this, you'll probably say to yourself, who is this ass saying shit? It doesn't matter what i say. it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. But this one last thought: What would Bill Hicks say?" - JV

If you missed the show, or didn't read about it already, Odd Future's Tyler, The Creator won Best New Artist, Adele (as Justin points out) is a good singer, (so is) Beyonce (but more impotantly, she) is pregnant, Lady Gaga does a great Ralph Macchio, and Justin Bieber loves God and Jesus....

I caught Kanye West's 2+ hour headlining set at the Way Out West Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden on Saturday night, one night after I saw Prince play a 2+ hour set on the same stage, surprise cameo by Kanye included (Prince did not return the favor).

Without comparing setlists, as far as I could tell from memory, Kanye's set in Sweden was the basically the same set he did at Coachella minus Justin Vernon on guest vocals. Everything else was similar - the show starting with Kanye on a ladder in the middle of the crowd, the backdrop, the ballet dancers, the white sheet that covers them towards the end, the costume changes, and even a short appearance by Pusha T during "Runaway" (seriously though, Pusha T went all the way to Sweden for 20 seconds on stage?). Pictures from the epic production are in this post.

Jay Z & Kanye West have added new dates to their upcoming tour in support of the recently released Watch the Throne. The previously announced dates include November 5 and 6 at Izod Center which are now sold out. The new announcement includes another NYC area date (sort of) on November 11 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Tickets go on sale Friday (8/19) at 10 AM with a Watch the Throne and VIP presale starting Wednesday (8/17) at 10 AM.

Although Kanye produced most of the album, they also brought an impressive cast of outside producers incuding Q-Tip, 88-Keys, The Neptunes, The RZA, and Swizz Beatz. Kanye and his collaborators create a wide range of sounds touching on everything from classic soul to dubstep-infused electronica. The guest vocal spots are especially grabbing too. Jay-Z and Kanye, who have been two of the biggest names in hip hop for at least the last decade, bring in newcomer Frank Ocean of Odd Future on two of the tracks. Jay's wife, Beyonce, who also has Frank Ocean and Kanye on her new album, sings the chorus to "Lift Off." The album samples the vocals of legendary singers Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield, and also features guest vocals by Mr. Hudson of Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music. You can stream "Otis" at Jay-Z's Life + Times website and listen to "H.A.M" below.

Justin Vernon also wrote a hook for "That's My Bitch" and according to the album's liner notes, he also sings the part. Elly Jackson of La Roux sings the song's chorus and Q-Tip handled some production duties. Check the song out on grooveshark. Justin comes in at 1:45.

Speaking of Justin Vernon, he and his 9-piece version of Bon Iver played their first of two NYC shows with The Rosebuds at United Palace Theatre last night (8/9). They also play Prospect Park tonight (8/10). Both shows are/were sold out. More on last night in a bit.

The Throne (aka Jay-Z & Kanye West) have rescheduled their original set of dates to kick off in late October. The current schedule is listed below and "more dates to be announced soon". The new set of dates include NJ's Izod Center on November 5th & 6th (instead of September 27 & 28). Tickets for both dates go on presale at 10AM with the password "WTT".

A battle royal has broken out behind the scenes of Jay-Z and Kanye West's new album, "Watch the Throne."

Sources say the rappers -- who call themselves The Throne and are releasing their expected blockbuster collaboration Aug. 8 on iTunes and four days later everywhere else -- are barely speaking to each other as they iron out the details of their upcoming tour...

The sources say West wants flashy concerts with "next-level production," which would cost more than $400,000 per show. Jay-Z is said to be meticulous about costs and already has a larger, long-term advance from Live Nation that he has to pay back.

"Jay-Z can't deal with Kanye," an insider told Page Six. "Jay is a stone-cold businessman. He wants to recoup all of his money from Live Nation. But Kanye wants to upstage rock stars with a blowout show. He doesn't care about costs. He has a lot less to gain from the shows."

West is expected to agree to the conditions of the tour next week, but the business brouhaha between the powerhouse artists might have affected their backstage relationship.

Industry insiders were shocked to see West and Jay-Z perform separately with Young Jeezy last Monday night at the Highline Ballroom [a private event]. "We were expecting them to come out together to perform a track from the album," a source said. "They didn't even go out together after the show."

"Jay-Z is fed up with West's antics," another source said. "He doesn't even want to be around him." However, the two are expected to perform together at a listening party tonight at The Rose Planetarium in Central Park, according to The Post's Dan Aquilante. A Live Nation rep said, "No comment." The rappers' reps didn't get back to us.-[New York Post]

Jay-Z denies the beef and said Kanye is a genius. Jay & Ye hosted a private listening party at The Rose Planetarium in Central Park last night (8/1). According to attendee Erin Carlson, "Contrary to reports, they seemed to be getting along...." Contrary to rumors before the event, they did not perform. "Watch the Throne" is out August 8th via iTunes.

Videos from that private Young Jeezy show at Highline Ballroom last week (7/25), which featured appearances from Bun B, The Lox, Fabolous and others in addition to Jay/Kanye, are below alongside all tour dates.

Jay & Ye wait to receive the large bundles of money about to be thrown at them

Tickets for the previously discussedJay-Z/Kanye West aka Watch The Throne (isn't throne a synonym for toilet?) show scheduled for September 27 & 28 at IZOD Center go on presale on Thurs 7/28 at 10:00 AM. Presale code is "WTT" for the NJ dates (probably for all of them). You can head to the WTT website for details on all cities starting at midnight tonight (7/27). General sale tickets, ranging from $55 to $178.50, hit Ticketmaster on August 8 at 10am. - BBG

Jay-Z and Kanye West will proclaim that all sucka MCs need to Watch The Throne, when the pair release their collaborative LP on August 8th. Stream the first track "Otis" at Jay-Z's blog. The LP marks Jay-Z's third attempt at merging with a major star to form another supercrew. He released an EP with Linkin Park and two LPs as part of "The Best of Both Worlds", his collaboration with R.Kelly that in addition to the LPs, produced a much discussed, failed tour.

In addition, and much like The Best of Both Worlds, Jigga and Ye will hit the road together for a string of US dates kicking off in late Septemeber and coming to a close in November. The tour includes a pair of dates at Izod Center in East Rutherford on 9/27 and 9/28. Ticketing info is forthcoming, but presale passwords are set to be revealed on Thursday at midnight.

At the tail end of his set at MoMA's Party In The Garden benefit afterparty last night (5/10), Kanye Westwas joined by none-other than Jay-Z to work out "H.A.M." before West stepped away from center stage (shocking, I know) to make way for HOV and his rendition of "Empire State of Mind". It was a riotous closing to a set that allowed plenty of time for Mr. West to shine too. Kanye played 45 minutes of hits from across his output. The setlist included "Power," "Run This Town", "Hell of a Life", "Can't Tell Me Nothin'", "Runaway", "Flashing Lights" and "The Good Life". Pictures and video from the museum show are in this post.

BONUS: someone posted Kanye's entire Coachella set as a download. You can also listen to that in its entirety, with the rest of the MoMA pics and video, below...

Tons of hip hop shows on the way, from the classic to the new! First up, Curren$y will headline Irving Plaza on June 6th as part of a string of US dates that he has scheduled in May & June (dates are below). Tickets are currently on Live Nation presale, and go on regular sale at 10AM tomorrow (4/6). Curren$y is currently preparing to release his new and entirely Alchemist-produced EP Covert Coup on April 20th and for FREE.

Raekwon will headline BB King's on April 17th, alongside Ultramagnetic MC's (billed as an exclusive reunion show, I assume that means that Kool Keith is on board much like at ATP New Jersey), MC Eiht, Bushwick Bill (Geto Boys), Chip Fu (Fu-Schnickens), Da Bushbabees, Tanya Morgan, Tony Touch, and many many more including "special invited VIP surprise guests" and the host D-Stroy (Arsonists). Tickets are on sale. The show takes place just four days before Raekwon will team with The Lox, EPMD, Brand Nubian, and Nice and Smooth as part of a Salute to Hip Hop at Best Buy Theater on April 13th. Tickets are still available.

Keith Murray will similarly team with a gang of 90's hip hop stars at Santos on April 14th. He'll be joined by Lords of the Underground, Group Home, Real Live, Nine, Shabaam Sahdeeq, and DJs Evil D, Eclipse, Kon & Amir, Ralph McDaniels, and many others. Tickets are still available.

Two of the most extreme MCs in hip hop, M.O.P., will hit Southpaw on April 7th with Top $ Raz, Sleepwalkas, and others. Tickets are still available.

Del Thee Funkee Homosapien will hit BB King's on May 1st as part of a round of US dates for the Hiero lynch pin. Tickets are still available. Del will release his new LP Golden Age on April 11th.

Slick Rick is returning to BB King's, as he'll play the venue on May 29th. Tickets are still available.

Talib Kweli will play a FREE show in Red Hook Park on June 21st as part of the City Parks Foundation's Summerstage series. Tons more Summerstage events (and undoubtedly a large number of hip hop ones) are also slated to be announced, we'll keep you informed. Kweli recently played SXSW and released Gutter Rainbows earlier this year.

And last but certainly not least, 9th Wonder and Phonte (aka 2/3 of Little Brother) will join Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg at 92Y Tribeca Wednesday (4/6) night as part of the Noisemakers series, where Rosenberg interviews his guests. Tickets are on sale.

"Sade is back with The Ultimate Collection. In addition to classic Sade songs, the must-have album will include three new, never-before heard songs including "Moon & The Sky" (featuring Jay-Z). Here for the first time, fans can find all of their favorite Sade classics from their most iconic albums including songs from the Best Of collection and the greatest hits off of Lover's Rock and Soldier Of Love.The track listing for The Ultimate Collection, out May 3rd, will be revealed shortly.

Pre-orders of the album begin today at Sade.com, and fans who pre-order The Ultimate Collection will have exclusive early access to tickets beginning March 30th for the newly announced dates in select markets.

Tickets for the newly announced dates go on sale to the public beginning April 2nd at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. For Facebook pre-sale codes, announcements and on-sale dates, visit Sade's Facebook events page."

New Sade/John Legend dates include Pittsburgh, CT, and third shows in Chicago and LA. NYC still has none though the previously announced set of dates include two in NJ and one in Long Island. All dates below...

"In a rare interview, multi-platinum, 10-time Grammy Award-winning artist and icon JAY-Z will speak with Charlie Rose, executive editor and anchor of the Charlie Rose Show, before a live audience in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium at the Brooklyn Museum on Thursday, November 18, at 7 p.m. The conversation, which will be taped to air nationwide at a later date on the Charlie Rose program, will focus on JAY-Z's book DECODED, to be published on November 16 by Spiegel & Grau, a Random House imprint. DECODED recounts JAY-Z's life from his childhood in Brooklyn's Marcy housing projects to becoming a world-famous performer and songwriter, entrepreneur, and philanthropist."

Tickets go on sale at noon for the "JAY-Z in conversation with Cornel West and Paul Holdengräber" event taking place Monday, November 15th at 7:00 p.m. in the Celeste Bartos Forum, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (NYPL). The ticket also includes a copy of the established rapper's new book Decoded.

Meanwhile, up and comking rapper Homeboy Sandman, as previously mentioned, plays a show with the unpredictable Das Racist at Southpaw in Brooklyn tonight (11/5).

Southpaw flyer and Homeboy Sandman's new video for "The Carpenter", below...

Meanwhile, DJ Premier recently released a classic freestyle from the Stretch & Bobbito Show which features 10 minutes of Big L and Jay-Z. If you are a fan of either, it's a must (stream/DL it below). Listen closely though, as you can hear Jay-Z scheming to steal the line "all I got for chicks is hard dick & bubblegum" for his song "A Million & One Questions" (which came out two years after this freestyle).

Speaking of the late/great Big L, Return of the Devil's Son is the posthumous MC's new album which will feature "21 unreleased songs" and see release on 11/23 via Distrolord/SMC Recordings. Check out a reworking of the Big L classic "Danger Zone" called "Zone of Danger" stream/downloadable below courtesy RCRD LBL. Full tracklisting is below too.

UPDATE:grandgood reports that: "ccording to DJ Johnny Juice, Busta Rhymes is not part of this show. Only Dinco D, Charlie Brown and Cut Monitor Milo will be performing along with Son Of Bazerk. Still sounds like a dope show."

Those Big L tracks, the LP tracklisting and a bunch of videos are below. Big L, Rest in Peace!

"Yankee Stadium was #EPIC last night. Performances by JayZ,Drake,Kanye West,Eminem,G-Unit,Dr.Dre,Nicki Minaj,B.O.B & Eminem all on one stage!" -ThisIsChi_JEG

"Apparently a Coldplay concert broke out in the middle of Jay-Z's Yankee Stadium set last night. Can safely say no one saw that coming." -BarthDoesThings

"I've been trying to find a word to explain the Jay-Z/Eminem Yankee Stadium show.. I got it.. WOW!!!!!" -DJCK_BROOKLYN

Jay-Z & Chris Martin on stage @ Yankee Stadium

Jay-Z and Eminem tore down Yankee Stadium last night (9/13), the first of TWO shows that the pair of MCs will play in the Bronx. And there were guests... Kanye was present. Chris Martin of Coldplay dropped in. Beyonce had her say. Dr Dre was there. 50 Cent too. Not to mention Drake, Nicky Minaj, D12, B.O.B, Swizz Beatz, Lloyd Banks, and many others.

"The concert lasted well past midnight, and a few thousand in the crowd started to make their way to the exits while Jay-Z was still rapping to beat the after-concert rush. But most stayed behind, sensing what Jay-Z told them. ''This is historic: They ain't never gonna be another night like tonight.''

Well, maybe one more night -- the pair has another show at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday." [NY Times]

What kind of oldies concert draws a huge audience in its 20s? Rock the Bells, the daylong hip-hop festival that came to Governors Island on Saturday. This year's Rock the Bells borrowed an idea from the indie-rock festival All Tomorrow's Parties, booking groups to perform watershed albums in their entirety.

Two headliners, Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang Clan, largely complied with the assignment. Snoop Dogg brought along most of the guests from his 1993 album, "Doggystyle," made back when he was Snoop Doggy Dogg. The others - A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, Rakim and Slick Rick - went "veering off," as Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest put it, to play additional hits (which no one minded) or to plug more recent projects.

And then there was the wild card: Lauryn Hill, the singer and rapper formerly of the Fugees, appearing half an hour late. She hasn't released a studio album since "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" in 1998, and she has recorded and toured only sporadically since then while raising five children. "I miss you," she told the crowd repeatedly. Partway through the set she pulled guests out of the V.I.P. section and onstage: Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, John Legend. They missed her too.
-[New York Times]

A second set from the NYC edition of Rock The Bells (first is HERE), continue below...

"Shares of Madison Square Garden Inc, which owns the New York Knicks, dropped nearly 4 percent early on Friday, the day after superstar LeBron James spurned the basketball team to sign with the Miami Heat.

James announced on Thursday evening that he would join the Heat in his quest to win a National Basketball Association title, leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the Knicks had cleared salary-cap space on its roster in the hopes of attracting James, who has twice won the most valuable player award." [Reuters]

"Just hours after presale tickets for Eminem and Jay-Z's "Home And Home" tour went on sale today (June 24), another show has been added in Detroit at Comerica Park on Friday, September 2 and in New York at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, September 14. Tickets go on sale to the public tomorrow, Friday, June 25, 2010" [Billboard]

Tickets for the September 13th Jay-Z/Eminem show at the new Yankee Stadium go on presales @ 10am. I say "presales" because the list of them is rocawear, roc4life, jay-z, venue, live nation, radio, and Yankees.com registered users. PASSWORD = NYYJAYZ for one of the presales, and also try "tickets" for the Live Nation presale.

After the city denied Jay-Z and Eminem from performing on the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater, they just moved their Letterman taping to the roof of the building. The above pictures were taken earlier this evening, Monday, June 21st. The mini-concert will air on Letterman on Friday night.

And as I type this, Red Bull is hosting an event in Bowery Ballroom named "Red Bull Emsee: The Road to 8 Mile". Not surprisingly (based on that event name, their promise of "Special Guest Performances", and Eminem's location earlier today), Eminem is rumored to be making an appearance (after midnight). Maybe Jay-Z will stop by too?
UPDATE: Eminem did in fact play Bowery Ballroom. a picture below.